perks!Things to do in London this weekend
Make the most of that sweet, sweet downtime with our guide to the weekend’s best events and activities
London's heatwave is still in full swing and showing no signs of letting up. Don't miss out. Use your two days of freedom to get out in the sun and enjoy some county pursuits in an urban setting (not to mention some banging live music) at the Lambeth Country Show, celebrate Africa and the African diaspora through music, comedy, arts and dance at Africa Utopia, and marvel at the city’s green spaces, trees, waterways and natural environment at over 270 events across London during National Park City week. We'll see you out there.
RECOMMENDED: find more things to do this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Things to do, Performances
Rift Theatre Present: ‘A Night at the Circus’
At Kaleidoscope Festival it pays to wander off. Don’t miss the fun theatrics down in Ally Pally’s old Victorian basement. This brand new theatrical immersive experience is promised to be a ‘festival within a festival’.
Muswell Hill
Things to do, Exhibitions
‘Scoop: A Wonderful Ice Cream World’
The British Museum of Food’s founders Bompas & Parr present this exhibition dedicated to all things ice cream. Try scoops made with intriguing flavours such as candied fruit and an all-day-breakfast flavour, taste a glow-in-the-dark concoction and stand in a cloud of vanilla-flavoured fog.
King's Cross
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Things to do, Film events
‘Sex and the City’ Sunday Screenings
Raise a cosmo to Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda at these Sunday screenings of ‘Sex and the City’. Each week is dedicated to a different theme including the most brutal breakups and best celeb cameos.
Shoreditch
Restaurants, Global
Bar of the Week: Green Room
Visit this head-turner of a bar at Shoreditch's Curtain hotel. Go for Crunchie-like cocktails and a playful playlist.
Shoreditch
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Things to do, Festivals
Africa Utopia
A weekend celebration of Africa and the African diaspora, featuring music, debates, comedy, arts and crafts, dance and fashion, as well as a market and street-food stalls.
South Bank
Things to do
Lambeth Country Show
The Lambeth Country Show has brought countryside pursuits to Brockwell Park for the last 43 years and the 2018 instalment will once again feature home grown a veg carving competition, sheep shearing, sheep dog and owl displays, an on-site mini farm and a banging line-up of live music.
Tulse Hill
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Museums
‘Life in the Dark’
This exhibition shines a light on the miraculous, clever and bizarre ways animals have adapted to live in the darkest of darkness. Touch nocturnal creatures, smell a bat cave and see the world through the eyes of a cave boa.
Brompton
Things to do, Festivals
Process Festival
Somerset House's exhibition ‘Print: Tearing It Up’ charts 100 years of magazines. This weekend, the show will go from observation to action with a two-day festival of zine fairs and print workshops.
Temple
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Restaurants, Japanese
Restaurant of the Week: Ippudo
Time Out says
Head to the Waterloo branch of this tasty ramen chain. Go for creamy bowls of the good stuff worth queuing for.
Charing Cross
Craving something delicious for lunch? Get Yaki Gyoza, Karaage Sicks or Crispy Gyoza for only £1, available with every bowl of ramen!
Venue says
Art
‘Banksy, Greatest Hits 2002-2008’
The nation's graffiti sweetheart has been covering walls around the world with his razor-sharp political observations. Now you can see his greatest hits from 2002 to 2008 in this golden era show.
Mayfair
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Things to do, Festivals
London National Park City Week
Take part in over 270 events and activities across the week all celebrating the city’s green spaces, trees, waterways and natural environment to help make London becoming the world's first National Park City a reality.
London
Things to do, Food and drink events
Kerb Presents: The Bucket List
Kerb’s fried chicken fest is back. London’s best wing creators including Morley’s, Butchies, Da Ja Chicken and Mother Flipper will be going head to head with visitors voting for the best finger-licking treats.
King's Cross
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Things to do
Stories in the Moonlight
Had enough of the sunshine? Listen to lunar-based tales from pro storytellers at this special event which marks a year until the inaugural Moon Festival lands (to coincide with the actual 50th anniverary of the moon landing in July 2019). The event is organised by Chill Night Out in partnership with the Moon Festival.
Battersea
Art
Show of the Week: Evan Ifekoya: ‘Ritual without Belief’
Time Out says
Visit this immersive sound installation filled with balloons and waves. It's the best comedown you could have.
Kennington
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Things to do, Food and drink events
Gluten Free Street Food Festival
Coeliacs can stuff themselves and Paleo followers can pig out at this street food festival packed with tempting gluten-free treats. An absence of wheat needn't be a bad thing, and the likes of Louisiana Chilli Shack, Cupcakes and Shhht! and Uncle G's are lining up to prove it.
Camden Town
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Theatre, Shakespeare
‘As You Like It’
Time Out says
Watch Shakespeare's forest-set romcom, in Regent's Park. It's really very funny.
Regent's Park
Theatre, Drama
‘The Lehman Trilogy’
Time Out says
Sam Mendes directs an epic story of three banking brothers. Go for a trio of electrifying performances.
South Bank
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Things to do, Late openings
Nocturnal Creatures
You can sleep all day and get arty all night at the Whitechapel's new late night contemporary arts festival sprawling out across the East End. Experience performances, video, sculpture and sound pulsing through the city after dark.
Whitechapel
Things to do, Exhibitions
‘A Sort of Home’: 1970s Whitechapel
Get an eyeful of London's East End back in the 1970s. See London-based documentary photographer David Hoffman's snaps of St Botolph’s Crypt wet shelter, a homeless shelter in the 1970s, and Fieldgate Mansion, a row of Victorian mansions once occupied by squatters in the mid-1970s.
Whitechapel
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Things to do, Markets and fairs
The London Artisan
Each season, the London Artisan curates a nifty lineup of designer makers, packing the Old Truman Brewery with jewellers, ceramicists, textile designers, graphic artists and heaps more creative types for two whole days.
Brick Lane
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Bars and pubs, Cocktail bars
Simmons Tower Bridge
A new branch in the City from Simmons - the popular mini-chain of cocktail bars. The Tower Bridge bar follows in the footsteps of its predecessors: think garish decor, (though not as neon as the Liverpool St bar), bright pink lighting and those epic five-hour happy hour sessions.
Expect cocktails to come served in teapots, beers by the bottle and on tap, plus a decent wine list and a selection of shots in a variety of flavours: the jammy donut is a sweet mix of Chambord raspberry liqueur and Baileys, while the don is a blend of amaretto and Jack Daniel's.
Bermondsey
Free bottle of prosecco for every booking over six people on Saturdays!
Venue says
